"What are we left with when architecture is stripped of its spatiality, materiality and aesthetics?"
The third Chicago Architecture Biennial draws attention to the biggest issues facing today's society, but is short on architects wrangling with them, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"Venturi Scott Brown's MCASD addition should be saved because it is by Venturi Scott Brown"
Despite changing needs and tastes, Venturi Scott Brown's threatened extension to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego warrants preservation simply because their names are attached to it, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"Architecture as intellectual inquiry needs to take more risks"
The second Chicago Architecture Biennial tackles the broad and tempestuous topic of history, but plays it too safe, says Mimi Zeiger in this Opinion column. More
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"Design strategies robust enough to resist this new political climate have yet to emerge"
US architects disillusioned by the AIA's post-election sentiment should use critical speculation to help reimagine the country's built environment and remain hopeful, suggests Mimi Zeiger in this Opinion column. More
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"Building cannot be separated from the economics that drive construction"
Both Amanda Levete's MAAT museum and the Lisbon Architecture Triennale opened in the Portuguese capital earlier this month. Together they prove that architecture is physically shaped by its fiscal situation, says Mimi Zeiger in this week's Opinion. More
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"Architecture can feel like a paltry gesture in times like ours"
Opinion: meaningful architectural reactions to crises may take time, but quick temporary structures can be just as effective, and both are far preferable to not responding at all says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"Is architecture really as guileless as Aravena's Biennale suggests?"
Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: Alejandro Aravena's Reporting from the Front-themed Venice Biennale is filled with good intentions, but can architects ever really be honest about architecture, asks Mimi Zeiger. More
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"Creative office space is the dominant aesthetic of our time"
Opinion: the conversion of old industrial buildings into "creative office space" has proven so successful in LA, even galleries like Hauser Wirth & Schimmel are getting in on the act, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"What to do with old houses?"
Opinion: LACMA's newly inherited Sheats-Goldstein House could place classic mid-century houses at the heart of Los Angeles' cultural revival, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"The Petersen isn't a good building, it's a western-town front posing as architecture"
Opinion: KPF's attempt to recreate the allure of a red Porsche on the facade of Los Angeles automotive museum has left us with an eyesore, says Mimi Zeiger. But can it teach us anything about our architectural now? More
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"Architecture is finally moving beyond a homogeneous status quo"
Opinion: the Chicago Architecture Biennial's diverse range of participants and mediums offers hope for the future of the discipline, despite protestations from self-appointed "gatekeepers" of the profession like Patrik Schumacher, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"These initiatives represent an opportunistic desire to play with extreme conditions"
Opinion: architects' proposals for pre-empting and adapting to the natural crises brought about by climate change aren't necessarily as superficial and politically correct as they may seem, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"The insidious return of hippie architecture"
Opinion: Google's techno-utopian campus design by BIG and Heatherwick is part of a new wave of interest in surprisingly self-centred "hippie architecture", says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"Biennials and design fairs function much like film festivals"
Opinion: the architecture and film industries have quite a few things in common – including expensive projects and the lionising of a certain kind of success. But architects can still learn a lot from the approach of independent film makers, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"An object lesson for designers caught on the hamster wheel of producing interestingness"
Opinion: Diller, Scofidio + Renfro's The Broad museum in Los Angeles is an elegant exercise in mundanity, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"Koolhaas may think we're past the time of manifestos, but that's no reason to play dumb"
Opinion: why have architects and designers been so quiet about America's recent clashes over race and police violence? asks Mimi Zeiger. More
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"History has become a trove of artefacts ready for appropriation"
Opinion: designers today are being swamped with visual information that has been stripped of its historical context. Making personal connections across generations can help fill the gaps, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"A blob, a bridge, a tower, and a subway stop"
Opinion: officials are racing to bring big architectural names like Zumthor, Gehry and Piano to Los Angeles' Museum Mile, but the lack of an overarching masterplan is leaving the street itself sad and neglected, says Mimi Zeiger. More
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"It's time for architects to make their own demands"
Opinion: as architects in Chicago prepare to protest against declining working conditions, Mimi Zeiger argues that the industry needs to take radical action to gain the recognition it deserves. More
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"Engagement with real, local conditions is crucial for architecture's global relevancy"
Opinion: city mayors are becoming increasingly powerful political figures in the architectural world, offering an opportunity for architects to act as local advocates and create a counterpoint to forces of globalisation, says Mimi Zeiger. More
